Thursday, March 19, 2020

Collision and Collusion

Collision and Collusion Collision and Collusion Collision and Collusion By Maeve Maddox A philosophical question from a reader prompts this post: I find it very interesting how collision is so close to collusion, considering the strange financial shenanigans that occur in that business [insurance and collision repair].   What is the background of these two words?   Are they actually related in any way? Clearly, the reader has had less fortunate experiences with insurance companies and collision repair centers than I have. The only connection between collision and collusion that I can discern is the prefix col-, which is a rendering of the Latin preposition cum (with). In English words, cum has produced the prefixes com-, con-, and col-. These prefixes convey the idea of â€Å"together, together with, in combination or union.† For example, the noun companion combines com- with panis (bread). A companion is â€Å"a person to eat bread with.† Sharing a meal with someone is often a sign of intimacy. Collision comes from the verb collide (col + laedere). The Latin verb laedere means â€Å"to injure† or â€Å"to damage.† When things collide, they strike or clash together. Collusion comes from the verb collude (col + ludere), The Latin verb ludere means, â€Å"to play.† When people collude, they â€Å"play† together. The kind of play meant here is not the friendly kind. It’s the deceptive activity implied in the expressions â€Å"to play at,† â€Å"to play one false,† and â€Å"to play into someone’s hands.† Collision is â€Å"the violent encounter of a moving body with another.† On the street, a collision usually involves vehicles. In physics, particles collide. Both collision and collide are used figuratively to indicate a clash of wills. The noun collision may also be used attributively (i.e., to modify another noun). Here are examples of usage: Both of the Washington State Patrol troopers injured in collisions Sunday night near Northgate have been released from the hospital. Two Metro-North Railroad trains collided after a derailment near Fairfield, Conn., at the height of the evening rush on Friday. Somalia: What happens when political and humanitarian goals collide? Global Markets and National Politics: Collision Course or Virtuous Circle? Collusion is a secret agreement for purposes of trickery or fraud. In law, collusion is an agreement between two or more parties for the purpose of defrauding others or to gain an unfair market advantage, for example, price-fixing and inside trading. Here are some recent headlines: Big Tech Companies Agree To Pay Up Over Hiring Collusion Shell and BP accused of collusion in South Africa How Hospitals and Health Insurers Collude at Your Expense Business and Government Collude over Education Policy and Funding Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Coordinating vs. Subordinating Conjunctions50 Nautical Terms in General Use20 Movies Based on Shakespeare Plays

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

How to Ask Your Professor to Change Your Grade

How to Ask Your Professor to Change Your Grade At the end of every semester, professor’s inboxes are inundated with a barrage of emails from desperate students seeking a grade change. These last minute requests are often met with frustration and disdain. Some professors even go so far as to set their inbox to auto-respond and not check back until weeks after the semester ends. If you are considering asking your professor for a grade change, consider your actions cautiously and prepare yourself before making the request. Here’s your best chance: Step 1: Do everything in your power not to find yourself in this situation. A lot of requests come from students who have borderline grades. Just a point or two more, and their GPA would improve. However, being on the border isn’t usually an acceptable reason to ask for a grade change. If your grade is 89.22%, dont ask the professor to consider a bump to 90% in order to keep your GPA up. If you think you might be on the borderline, work as hard as you can before the end of the semester and discuss extra credit possibilities ahead of time. Don’t count on being â€Å"rounded up† as a courtesy. Step 2: Act before your professor submits his grades to the university. Instructors will be much more likely to change grades before they submit them to the university. If you were missing points or feel you should have been given more participation credit, talk to your professor before grades are due. If you wait until after submission, your professor will likely have to jump through a lot of hoops to meet your request. In some universities, grade changes are simply not permitted without a significant written explanation of the instructor’s error written by the instructor. Keep in mind that instructors are usually required to submit the grades to the university several days before they are posted for students to view. So, talk to your professor as soon as possible. Step 3: Decide if you really have a case. Review the syllabus and make sure your argument matches up with the instructor’s expectations. A reasonable grade change request might be based on objective issues such as: The instructor failing to count points you earnedA miscalculation on a particular examA problem with the online course’s learning management system that resulted in a point deduction A request might also be made based on subjective issues such as: You feel you should have been given more participation pointsYou believe your role in the group project was not adequately understood or appreciated Step 4: Collect evidence. If you’re going to make a claim, collect evidence to support your cause. Collect old papers, try to make a list of times you’ve participated, etc. Step 5: Discuss your case with the professor in a professional manner. Whatever you do, don’t be overly glib or angry with your professor. State your claim in a calm and professional manner. Explain, briefly, the evidence that backs up your claim. And, offer to show the evidence or discuss the issue in more detail if the professor would find that helpful. Step 6: If all else fails, appeal to the department. If your professor will not change your grade and you feel you have a very good case, you may be able to appeal to the department. Try calling the department offices and asking about the policy on grade appeals. Keep in mind that complaining about the professor’s decision may be viewed poorly by other professors and may have negative consequences – particularly if you are in a small, insular department. However, if you stay calm and state your case confidently, you will have a better chance of keeping their respect and getting your grade changed.

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Mary Shellys Frankenstein Nature Vs. Nurture Theme Analysis Research Paper

Mary Shellys Frankenstein Nature Vs. Nurture Theme Analysis - Research Paper Example The discussion centers on the themes of nature versus nurture, of whether or not goodness or evil is created through the innate nature of an individual, or if it is developed through the treatment that individual receives. The creature made by Frankenstein states at one point that â€Å"Adam’s situation was far different from mine in every other respect. His God had made him happy and prosperous. His Creator guarded him and cared for him, He was allowed to talk with - and learn from - superior beings. But I was wretched, helpless, alone.† (Shelley, 2008, p. 121). The creature saw himself as abandoned and not allowed to learn at the feet of his creator. This mirrored the relationship that Shelley had with her father as when he had remarried when she was eight she had felt he had left her, only to be more formally abandoned when she married Percy Shelley though her father disapproved (Mellor, 2007, p. 51). In many ways, the discourse of the novel is a conversation with her father, telling him all the ways in which he had disappointed her and how this had made her feel. Shelley expresses her aggression towards her father, naming the first victim of the creature’s rage after him, but combining this visage with the strikingly similar features of the five year old child with those of her own child. In this she explores the dynamic of murder within the family, her aggression towards her father and the horrifying concept of being able to kill her own child. Her child was named for his grandfather, her father, both bearing the name William as does the child of Frankenstein, thus completing the dynamic in which relationships between parents and children are horrifically discussed (Mellor, 2007, p. 52). Mellor (2007), states that Shelley believed that nurture was crucial in the development of the nature of a child, that the way in which a child was embraced or denied by a parent and taught about the

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Organizational Behavior 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organizational Behavior 3 - Essay Example By focusing on discussing the problem, both parties can have a better chance to solve the problem. Descriptive communication is all about being able to accurately and objectively describe the problem. In other words, negotiators should avoid judging or labeling a person for their behavior. Aside from focusing on solutions to the problem, negotiators should be able to maintain his/her objectivity when describing the event. Speaking in general terms can trigger miscommunication. To avoid misrepresenting the problem, negotiators should be specific when managing the problem. In general, specific communication means that negotiators should communicate in such a way that they will be clearly understood by the receiver of the message. In other words, they should speak direct to the point. Disjunctive communication is all about taking all the time to speak out one’s own thoughts without letting the other person express what they think. On the other hand, conjunctive communication is all about being able to initiate a conversation that flows smoothly. Therefore, when solving a problem, negotiators should make use of conjunctive communication and not disjunctive ones. For example, negotiator should avoid asking further questions before the other party completes his/her last sentence. Invalidating communication can make the receiver of the messages feel ignored, alienated, or worthless. On the other hand, validating communication is all about making the other party feel understood, valued, accepted, and recognized. Therefore, when solving a problem, negotiators should make use of validating communication and not invalidating ones. In most cases, this can be done by trying to avoid criticizing the other person. Owned communication is all about taking the responsibility for one’s own statement. For example, â€Å"I told you that you need to rest early†. Using the word â€Å"I† already indicate ownership

Saturday, January 25, 2020

The Stanislavsky Method :: essays research papers

When I came off of the stage that first night, I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I was ecstatic, on a natural high. Suddenly, I had found my place in the world. As I have gotten older and more experienced, I have learned that acting is not just reciting lines in front of an audience. There is a technique to acting. It is known as the â€Å"method†, â€Å"method acting†, or the â€Å"Stanislavsky method†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The method was created by Konstantin Stanislavsky, a Russian actor, director,producer and founder of the Moscow Art Theatre which opened in 1898. Stanislavsky had many shortcomings as an actor and worked obsessively to improve his voice, diction and body movement. As a director and producer, Stanislavsky believed that the mere external behavior of an actor was not sufficient to portray the unique inner world of a character. He felt that once an actor felt what the character was feeling, the emotion would then manifest itself physically, making the performance believable. This idea was the basis for the method that Stanislavsky created, now the most common acting style in Western theatre.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stanislavsky’s method begins with relaxation. He called in an â€Å"occupational disease.† One of Stanislavsky’s most famous students, Lee Strasberg, believed it to be the actor’s worst enemy. The exercise Stanislavsky developed for relaxation is meant to help the actor find hidden tension in all muscles of the body, most importantly the face, where most mental tension manifests itself. The exercise begins with the actor sitting in a straight backed, armless chair. First, the actor must find the position that he or she would be most likely to sleep in, if absolutely necessary. Then, starting with the fingers and working all the muscles in sequence, finding the tension hiding in each muscle, and will the muscle to relax. The first time I performed this exercise was in Beginning Drama, my freshman year. My instructor, Mrs. Daniels, had each student find a space on the floor and lay down on their back. From there Ms. Daniels went through each of our muscles telling us to relax each one as we went through them. This exercise helps the actor find where they, personally, hold their tension. Once an actor knows where they hold their tension, they can begin to release it, letting as little of themselves show through the character they are portraying.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next exercise in the method is called Sense Memory.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Cardio Workouts

By taking fitness again this term, I feel that I have accomplished my goals that I set for myself and have gotten into a great routine I could try everyday over the summer. Now experienced exercising on mostly all the cardio machines, I am able to effortlessly exercise through a workout for thirty minutes or more. For a specific goal this semester, I have wanted to succeed on levels 5-10, and I have actually reached level 10 on many occasions. Level 10 is still obviously a challenge for me, but this just pushes me to continue.In time, I might even reach higher levels than this and I will strive to do so. Another goal of mine was to lose a few pounds by the time I finished this class. I believe this is a check off my list because whenever I workout now, I hardly feel any soreness on even some of the highest levels. I knew if I worked at this for an extended period of time, it would pay off and the results would be the way I wanted them. Lastly, my next goal was to get my legs into sha pe for when I play tennis in the summer. I want to have every part of my body in good form to succeed and build up more even more muscle in my calves.Mid-way through my progression in the second semester I got tested on how well I was working to attain my fitness goals. Once indoors, working on the Arc Trainer and another time, jogging outside on the track. The heart monitor proved to see if I was working out to my maximum potential and the goal for everyone was to reach a target heart rate zone from 142-162. Outdoors, I felt like it was a little tough to achieve a decent heart rate, but my average was 152 bpm. Also, my maximum heart rate was 185 and I accomplished this by steadily running at a faster speed.Both times getting tested were surprisingly not too difficult, but was definitely a challenge at one point. By doing this, I correctly positioned a strap tightly around the upper part of my body and secured the heart rate watch around my wrist. While working out these two times, I needed to have the watch in close distance to my body at all times, so I could receive an accurate heart rate. Done trying mostly all of the cardio machines, I would say my favorite is the Arch Trainer because it really gets my legs and the rest of my body moving.The Arch Trainer enables me to experiment with different levels and adjusting until I acquire the proper one that I am comfortable with. On the same note, I sense my progression in overall fitness and wellness has enhanced a lot. First getting back into the swing of things in the beginning of the semester was a bit hard, but I managed to continue where I left off from the pervious term. Nevertheless, as time went on, I was still capable of increasing my level at a steady pace. Plus, at the same time my calories that I burned increased to higher numbers and I felt amazing afterwards.I believe I should continue working out. Exercising is immense when it comes to improving and extending good health and life span. Also, a hea lthy and proper diet is essential to this progression. Working out increases your heart rate and leads to making your heart stronger as a whole. As well, your muscles in every part of your body become strengthened while doing so. Eating right and constantly working out, means becoming a healthier you and doing things you might not have been capable of doing before. I now appreciate these cardio machines and have a feel for which are best for me.Each day I try and workout to my greatest ability, no matter what program or level. When I look back on my cardio progress chart, I see what I have accomplished according to my goals that I set for myself in the beginning. I see exactly which machines I liked best, how varied the levels were on each day, the distance I went, and from that the calories I burned. I have definitely learned quite a lot when it comes to getting your body into proper condition. This fitness class taught me what it is like to be in shape and acquire the workouts I n eed to continue daily.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Famous Inventors from New Mexico

A few famous inventors have hailed from New Mexico. William Hanna William Hanna (1910 - 2001) was one-half of Hanna-Barbara, the animation studio behind such famous cartoons as Scooby-Doo, Super Friends, Yogi Bear and The Flintstones. In addition to co-founding the studio and being the creative force behind many of its most famous cartoons, Hanna and Barbara were also responsible for creating Tom and Jerry early in their careers. Hanna was born in Melrose, New Mexico, though his family moved several times throughout his childhood. Edward Uhler Condon Edward Uhler Condon (1902 – 1974) was a nuclear physicist and a pioneer in quantum mechanics. He was born in Alamogordo, New Mexico, and while he attended high school and college in California, he returned to the state for a brief tenure with the Manhattan Project during World War II. As research director for Westinghouse Electric, he oversaw and conducted research that was instrumental to the development of both radar and nuclear weapons. He later became National Bureau of Standards, where he became a target for the House Un-American Activities Committee; however, he was famously defended against these allegations by such figures as Harry Truman and Albert Einstein. Jeff Bezos Jeff Bezos was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on January 12, 1964. Hes best known as the founder, chairman and CEO of Amazon.com, making him one of the pioneers of e-commerce. He also founded Blue Origin, a private spaceflight company. Smokey Bear While not an inventor in the traditional sense, the living symbol of Smokey Bear was a native of New Mexico. The bear cub was rescued from a 1950 wildfire in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico and nicknamed Hotfoot Teddy due to the injuries he sustained during the fire, but renamed Smokey, after the fire prevention mascot mascot who had been created a few years prior.